The White House has responded to New York Times editorials this week supporting marijuana legalization, saying ending U.S. pot prohibition isn't the "silver bullet solution."

The Office of National Drug Control Policy staff, while acknowledging the criminal justice system needs reform, argues in a blog post published Monday night that a series of Times editorials that began Sunday "ignores the science" and "fails to address public health problems" associated with a possible increase in marijuana use.

"The New York Times editorial team failed to mention a cascade of public health problems associated with the increased availability of marijuana," the blog post reads. "While law enforcement will always play an important role in combating violent crime associated with the drug trade, the Obama Administration approaches substance use as a public health issue, not merely a criminal justice problem.

"Any discussion on the issue should be guided by science and evidence, not ideology and wishful thinking," the blog post continues. "We will continue to focus on genuine drug policy reform -– a strategy that rejects extremes, and promotes expanded access to treatment, evidence-based prevention efforts, and alternatives to incarceration"

"The White House should be commended for standing with the science -- not political ideology," Kevin Sabet, co-founder of anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, told The Huffington Post. "But we shouldn't be very surprised. The White House has repeatedly said they stand with the science on this issue. And the science says that marijuana can be addictive for one in six teens, it doubles the risk of a car crash, and it significantly increases the risk for losing IQ points and is connected to mental illness."

The New York Times editorial board argued that, after weighing legalization, the scale tips in favor of ending the ban. The Times acknowledges concerns about certain forms of marijuana use, including that by minors, and advocates restricting sales to those under age 21.

"There are no perfect answers ... but neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol," the Times writes. The newspaper says the concerns are outweighed by the "vast" social costs of marijuana laws.

Mason Tvert, communications director for marijuana policy reform group Marijuana Policy Project, fired back, saying President Barack Obama still has "some 'evolving' to do when it comes to marijuana policy."

"The White House is clutching at straws to make its case that marijuana should remain illegal, and the hypocrisy is as glaring as ever," Tvert said. "President Obama has acknowledged that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer, yet his administration somehow maintains the position that marijuana is just too dangerous to allow responsible adult use. ... Nobody thinks ending alcohol prohibition was a bad idea, and it should come as little surprise that most Americans think it would be wise to do the same with marijuana prohibition."

To date, Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana for adults. Twenty-three states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and about a dozen more states are considering legalization in some form. Still, federal law considers all uses of marijuana illegal, classifying it alongside heroin and LSD as one of the "most dangerous" drugs.

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Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users

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“It makes me feel the way I need to feel.”

"I have used cannabis all over the world."

“I went to Vietnam, and I was there for a long time. [Using marijuana] made the difference between staying human or, as Michael Douglas said, becoming a beast.”

"Kush rolled, glass full... I prefer the better things!"

“Smoking helped put me in touch with the realm of the senses.”

"You know you're a stoner when your friends make you a Bob Marley cake."

"Pot always just made me sleepy.”

“Robert Downey Jr. said he started smoking weed at age 8.”

"It [my behavior on the show in 1994] wasn't because I was excited about you [David Letterman]. I think it may have had something to do with the joint I smoked before I came on."

"I'm not a great pothead or anything like that… but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol."

In 1975 he wrote “Maverick,” a memoir about his days playing in the NBA. Among other things, Jackson spoke frankly about marijuana use. -- Salon

"I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled.”

"Bieber both confirmed that he'd been caught smoking weed and apologized for it." -- Huffington Post

“Angelou settled into a job as a waitress and began smoking marijuana with abandon.”

"In 1999, then-Warwick Mayor Lincoln D. Chafee won accolades for his honesty in acknowledging he used marijuana and cocaine as a 1970s student at Brown University."

“The first time I smoked was at home with my mother and step-father.”

“I’ve tried pot, but it doesn’t do much for me.”

"Cocaine didn't interest me. Not at all. I'm way way back in the early pot…"

"The blogger and commentator Andrew Sullivan was busted in July for possessing a small amount of marijuana within the Cape Cod National Seashore."

"As I've already been open about in the past -- and as I assume many would expect -- I made personal choices when I was younger that I neither support nor condone for others and certainly wouldn't encourage through public policy."

"I don't smoke much pot anymore."

"Of course I know how to roll a joint."

“… the one that has the worst effect for me was pot. I felt silly and giggly - I hate feeling like that.”

"Never give up the ganja."

“I went through one period when I smoked a surprising, a really breath-taking, amount of grass almost every night.”

“I enjoy it once in a while. There is nothing wrong with that. Everything in moderation. I wouldn't call myself a pot-head.”

“[Phelps] firmly denies that he takes drugs, suggesting that the notorious photo of him smoking from a bong was a one-time lapse of judgment.”

“…what I did was experiment with a little marijuana like a lot of other people and walked away…”

"CNN anchor Gwen Scott claimed it is common knowledge that Turner sits in his office and smokes marijuana."

“I was hiding out from the celebrity thing, I was smoking way too much [marijuana].”

"I smoke a lot of pot when I write music."

"You bet I did. And I enjoyed it.''

“The owner of a local cannabis café told reporters George Clooney was no stranger there.”

Rush Limbaugh admits that he used cannabis during his recovery from opiate addiction and says that the legalization of marijuana is "a great issue" for the GOP.

“James also revealed he and his teammates smoked marijuana one night after getting access to a hotel room in Akron.”

"I have tried it."

"According to this woman, who requested anonymity because of her current job as a clinical psychologist, "He and Randy came to my house, they knocked on my door, and then they blindfolded me, tied me up, and put me in their car. They took me to their apartment and tried to force me to take bong hits. They'd been smoking pot."

"I did experiment with marijuana when I was a youth."

"I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried."

“As for drugs – well, Gates was certainly not unusual there. Marijuana was the pharmaceutical of choice…”

"Look, I have never made a secret of the fact that I have tried marijuana... About 50,000 times."

"He said he had tried marijuana, enjoyed it, 'but it did not become a habit and I have not tasted it in many years.'"

"Yes." [In response to the question: "Which of you are ready to admit to having used marijuana in the past?"]

"I smoked some weed, and that’s how I finished ‘Izzo.’"

“Do you know how many movies I wrote when I was high?”

"First, [in high school], I smoked a lot of pot...and that’s how I got to know the people ‘half in’ the society of my high school and we waved at each other over the bong. Then I got to know people by making jokes.”

"The White House said today that Judge Clarence Thomas, President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, had smoked marijuana while in college."